Of course, we will want to rent a car when we get there, which we cannot do without an International Drivers License. Oh dear, this means we have to deal with an office in Spanish again. Honestly, we do pretty good at the day to day stuff, but office speak is something we are still learning. So many terms for so many things.
Step One - figure out where we go to get one. Thanks to Google, this didn't take long. Once we found the website, it took a bit of effort, but Kevin did a masterful job of translating exactly what we needed to do.
Step Two - That is the one where I call the Mexican Auto Club in Mexico City to confirm Kevin had correctly translated the written instruction and to find out how to make payment.
It isn't difficult for anyone here to tell Spanish is not my first language, but knowing that does not prompt them to speak any more slowly. As a matter of fact, it seems to have the opposite effect.
Pen in hand, I scribbled half sentences, key words and pin numbers like a mad woman, trying to keep up with the CSR's rapid fire speech. Then I reviewed my scribbles with her to fill in the blanks and make sure the information I had written was correct. This only took 2 or 3 more attempts at the same conversation, but I was pretty sure I had it all down correctly.
So far so good, we thought we were making excellent progress.
Step 3 - This is the one where we take pin number the CSR had given me the day before and $928 pesos into a specific bank and make our payment to the auto club before we courier the whole thing off to Mexico City. Just when we thought everything was going smoothly...
The teller could not find the pin number in their system. Hmmm. It is already a hot day, and little snags like this just make it seem hotter. We left the bank with Kevin steaming ahead of me, in total disbelief that I could not write a number down correctly.
Why did we not think to bring the phone number to the auto club with us!!?????
Not wanting to admit defeat and go home without making the payment, we ended up at a nearby Starbucks where with my iPad and their free internet, we could get the phone number and call them toll free, thanks to the magic of our Telmex "pay as you go" phone. There were a few more tense moments when Kevin realized how low the battery on my iPad was ( apparently 16% is not good in situations like this), and the length of time it took to get a connection. By now, people were politely trying not to stare as we nattered at each other about why the connection was taking so long, but eventually, we did connect to the internet and people lost interest and stopped staring.
Finally we connected, found the phone number and very soon, I was chatting with someone at the auto club who verified the number the teller had just declined was, in fact valid. Resisting the urge to turn around and shout "I WAS RIGHT!!" to you know who..., I requested a new number.
Step 4 - Repeat Step 3, but with a different pin number. Surprisingly easy and we were in and out of the bank in under 5 minutes!
Step 5 - Take receipt from bank, copies of passport, drivers license, proof of address, and $460 pesos to DHL. Ship it away and wait.
Step 6 - Give instructions on finding our address over the phone to the DHL driver as he drives through the neighbourhood honking his horn looking for our house.
In all, the whole process took less than a week, and except for the snag at the bank, it went very smoothly. Alberta roads here we come!!
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